Hand truck



Patented Aug. 6, 1946 UNiTED STATES PATENT vorrlcle Waldo M. MacLaury,Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y.

Application September 23, 1944, Serial No. 555,464

1 Claim.-

This invention relates to hand trucks for transporting boxes, packagesand the like.

An object of the invention is to provide a hand truck for handling heavyarticles.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hand truck with whicharticles can be transported without any direct lifting action on thepart of the operator.

With the conventional hand or baggage truck not only must the article tobe handled be at least partly lifted in order to load it onto the truckbut also during the act of transportation the operator must support aportion of the load. As a result the transportation of heavy articlescannot be carried out by a single operator. Even with articles of mediumweight this requires the exercise of considerable lifting effort whichis both very tiring and conducive to injury to the operator.

In accordance with applicants invention the truck is formed of a framemember provided with article-gripping claws at its lower end andsupported on a wheeled axle at an intermediate point. Anotherarticle-gripping claw or hook is adjustably attached to the frame memberby a chain or other tension member at a point between the axle fulcrumpoint and the handle. In the use of the truck the article is grippedbetween the claws on the lower end of the frame member and the hook onthe tension member .fi

with the frame member in such a position that the article is liftedsolely by the downward force exerted by the operator. Also intransporting the article, the operator exerts only a downward force. Nolifting action is required.

These and other objects, features and aspects of the invention may beIbetter understood by reference to the following detailed description inconnection with the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the hand truck of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a View taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a partial perspective view of a second embodiment of theinvention.

Referring iirst to the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 3: The main frameof the truck is formed of a yoke-shaped member II) and a lever memberI5. The yoke I is formed of strap iron bent into the shape shown and thelever member I5, of steel tubing which is welded to the yoke I0 at thepoint I6. An axle II is carried by two arms of the yoke member I0 andextends through a hole near the lower end of the lever member I5. TwoWheels I3 are carried on the outer ends of the axle II. The forwardprojecting ends I4 of the yoke I0 are bent at an angle to the rest ofthe member and sharpened to form claws for gripping the load. A handleI'I is welded to the lever member I5 at its upper end.

A bracket I8 having a keyhole-shaped opening I9 is welded to the levermember I5 at an intermediate point thereon. A chain 20 is threadedthrough the hole I9 and has one end secured to the lever member l5 lbymeans of the ring 2| welded thereto. The bracket I8 may be provided witha hook for engaging the chain instead of the hole I9. A hook 22 isfastened to the free end of the chain 20.

In order to illustrate the operation of the truck a box 25 to be liftedand moved is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In the operation of the truck it iswheeled up to the load until the claws I4 come in contact with the nearside thereof. The hook 22 is then placed over the box 25 so that itsclaw edge contacts the opposite side thereof and the chain 2B isadjusted in the hole I9 so that its slack is largely taken up. Then byapplying a downward force on the handle I'I the box 25 is grippedbetween the claws I4 and the hook 22 and lifted. This is illustrated bythe dotted line view of Fig. 2. In transporting the load the truck isWheeled and the load is carried solely by the maintenance of a downwardforce on the handle I'I. No lifting action on the part of the operatoris ever required in order to support the load.

In the modied form of the invention shown in Fig. 4 the yoke member 30is formed of strap iron bent on edge. Holes are bored directly throughthe member I to carry the axle II. The lo-ad-engaging claws are ormed bytwisting and sharpening the ends of the yoke member 30. In otherrespects the modification of Fig. 4 is identical to that of the otherfigures. As in that form, the lever member I5 is supported at its lowerend by the axle II and welded to the yoke member 30 at their point ofcontact 36.

For the embodiment shown in Fig. the shoulders formed by twisting theends of the yoke member 3i] to form the claws 34 will prevent the loadfrom binding on the wheels I3 if the claws 34 slip under the load.

The embodiments of the invention illustrated herein are particularlyadapted for use with heavy loads and various modifications may be barngblocks I2 welded to the underside of the made where such strength is notrequired or for IJ other purposes. For example, a cable may be used inplace of the chain 20. These and other modifications may be made Withoutdeparting from the true spirit and scope of the invention as dened inthe appended claim.

`What is claimed is:

A hand truck comprising an elongated frame including a lever memberhaving a handle at one end, a yoke shaped member formed of a bent metalstrip attached to said lever member near the other end thereof with theends of said yoke member extending in the same direction as said otherend of said lever member, an axle mounted in holes intermediate the endsof the leg portions of said yoke member, supporting wheels on said axle,load gripping, twisted claws on the free ends of said yoke member, aload gripping hook, a iiexible member having one end attached to saidhook, and means for adjustably attaching said iiexible member to saidlever member to grip and lift the load between said hook and said clawswhen downward pressure is applied to said lever member at said handle.

WALDO M. MACLAURY.

